IP-based matching system

Abstract

In one aspect, an example method includes (i) accessing, by a computing device, a first Internet Protocol (IP) address that encodes first attributes of a first profile; (ii) accessing, by the computing device, a second IP address that encodes second attributes of a second profile; (iii) comparing, by the computing device, the first IP address and the second IP address using a network layer communication function; (iv) determining, by the computing device, that a result of the comparing satisfies a threshold condition; and (v) based on the result of the comparing satisfying the threshold condition, providing, by the computing device to another device, an indication of a match between the first profile and the second profile.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A computer-implemented method comprising:
 accessing, by a computing device, a first Internet Protocol (IP) address that encodes first attributes of a first social media profile; 
 accessing, by the computing device, a second IP address that encodes second attributes of a second social media profile; 
 determining, by the computing device, a shortest path between the first IP address and the second IP address; 
 determining, by the computing device, that the shortest path satisfies a threshold condition; and 
 based on the shortest path satisfying the threshold condition, providing, by the computing device to another device, an indication of a match between the first social media profile and the second social media profile. 
 
     
     
       2. The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 :
 wherein the first IP address encodes multiple different attributes, 
 wherein the second IP address does not encode each of the multiple different attributes, and 
 wherein determining the shortest path comprises determining a shortest path that traverses through at least one route node corresponding to at least one additional IP address that encodes attributes of the second social media profile subject to a constraint that the at least one additional IP address and the second IP address in combination encode each of the multiple different attributes. 
 
     
     
       3. The computer-implemented method of  claim 2 , wherein determining that the shortest path satisfies the threshold condition comprises determining that the shortest path exists. 
     
     
       4. The computer-implemented method of  claim 2 :
 wherein the second IP address and the at least one additional IP address are stored in a software defined network (SDN) table, and 
 wherein the SDN table includes metadata for the second IP address indicative of which attributes of the multiple different attributes are encoded by the second IP address and the at least one additional IP address, respectively. 
 
     
     
       5. The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 :
 wherein the first IP address comprises multiple octets, with each octet of the multiple octets encoding a respective attribute of the first attributes, and 
 wherein the second IP address comprises multiple octets, with each octet of the multiple octets encoding a respective attribute of the second attributes. 
 
     
     
       6. The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 :
 wherein the first IP address and the second IP address are stored in a software defined network (SDN) table, 
 wherein accessing the first IP address comprises accessing the first IP address in the SDN table, and 
 wherein accessing the second IP address comprises accessing the second IP address in the SDN table. 
 
     
     
       7. The computer-implemented method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 obtaining the first IP address; and 
 storing the first IP address in the SDN table. 
 
     
     
       8. The computer-implemented method of  claim 7 , wherein obtaining the first IP address comprises:
 obtaining the first attributes of the first social media profile; and 
 encoding the first attributes of the first social media profile as the first IP address. 
 
     
     
       9. The computer-implemented method of  claim 7 , wherein storing the first IP address in the SDN table comprises:
 establishing an SDN session; and 
 storing the first IP address in the SDN table during the SDN session. 
 
     
     
       10. The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 :
 wherein the first attributes comprise attributes of a first image, and 
 wherein the second attributes comprise attributes of a second image. 
 
     
     
       11. The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 obtaining a public IP address corresponding to the first social media profile; and 
 storing, by the computing device, a correlation between the public IP address and the first IP address. 
 
     
     
       12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon program instructions that upon execution by a processor, cause performance of a set of acts comprising:
 accessing a first Internet Protocol (IP) address that encodes first attributes of a first social media profile; 
 accessing a second IP address that encodes second attributes of a second social media profile; 
 determining a shortest path between the first IP address and the second IP address; 
 determining that the shortest path satisfies a threshold condition; and 
 based on the shortest path satisfying the threshold condition, providing, to another device, an indication of a match between the first social media profile and the second social media profile. 
 
     
     
       13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 12 :
 wherein the first IP address encodes multiple different attributes, 
 wherein the second IP address does not encode each of the multiple different attributes, and 
 wherein determining the shortest path comprises determining a shortest path that traverses through at least one route node corresponding to at least one additional IP address that encodes attributes of the second social media profile subject to a constraint that the at least one additional IP address and the second IP address in combination encode each of the multiple different attributes. 
 
     
     
       14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein determining that the shortest path satisfies the threshold condition comprises determining that the shortest path exists. 
     
     
       15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 13 :
 wherein the second IP address and the at least one additional IP address are stored in a software defined network (SDN) table, and 
 wherein the SDN table includes metadata for the second IP address indicative of which attributes of the multiple different attributes are encoded by the second IP address and the at least one additional IP address, respectively. 
 
     
     
       16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 12 :
 wherein the first IP address comprises multiple octets, with each octet of the multiple octets encoding a respective attribute of the first attributes, and 
 wherein the second IP address comprises multiple octets, with each octet of the multiple octets encoding a respective attribute of the second attributes. 
 
     
     
       17. A computing system comprising:
 one or more processors; and 
 a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored therein instructions that are executable to cause the computing system to perform a set of acts comprising:
 accessing a first Internet Protocol (IP) address that encodes first attributes of a first social media profile, 
 accessing a second IP address that encodes second attributes of a second social media profile; 
 determining a shortest path between the first IP address and the second IP address, 
 determining that the shortest path satisfies a threshold condition, and 
 based on the shortest path satisfying the threshold condition, providing, to another device, an indication of a match between the first social media profile and the second social media profile. 
 
 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 determining the shortest path comprises consulting routing information stored in a software defined network (SDN) table, and 
 the routing information includes metadata indicative of which types of attributes are encoded by the first IP address and which types of attributes are encoded by the second IP address.